Stavanger (Norway), June 1 (IANS) Round 5 of Norway Chess 2025 delivered gripping action across all boards. While all three classical games ended in draws, the intensity remained high as each matchup progressed to Armageddon.

The games Arjun Erigaisi against Hikaru Nakamura, Wei Yi against World Champion Dommaraju Gukesh, and Fabiano Caruana against Magnus Carlsen ended in hard-fought draws.

Arjun Erigaisi, Wei Yi and Magnus Carlsen triumphed in their Armageddon games, earning the crucial extra points.

With his Armageddon win, Magnus Carlsen continues to lead the standings, reinforcing his commanding presence in this year’s event. The tournament continues tomorrow with Round 6, featuring the highly anticipated rematch between World Champion Dommaraju Gukesh and World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen.

The Norway Chess Women’s tournament saw another exciting day with a decisive win for Vaishali Rameshbabu against Sarasadat Khademalsharieh. It marked her first classical victory in this year’s edition of Norway Chess.

The two remaining games Anna Muzychuk against World Champion Wenjun Ju, and Humpy Koneru against Lei Tingjie, were decided in Armageddon, emphasizing the intense competition in the women’s field, where each point is crucial.

Wenjun Ju and Humpy Koneru prevailed in their Armageddon games, earning the important extra points.

Earlier, Carlsen showed his class with an instructive victory in the endgame against Indian No. 2 Arjun Erigaisi. The Norwegian superstar, who had lost two Armageddon games in the last two rounds, made a strong statement with this win on home turf.

In the game between World Champion Dommaraju Gukesh and World No. 3 Fabiano Caruana, the American was leading almost the whole game, with significant winning chances. However, he could not convert his advantage due to Gukesh’s superb defensive skills. Gukesh then went on to win the Armageddon game convincingly.

Norway Chess is one of the world’s premier chess tournaments, bringing together the top male and female players in a distinctive 6-player double round-robin format. The 2025 edition is running from May 26 to June 6.

–IANS

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